The Christian Grandparenting Podcast
Hi, I’m Gayle Veitenheimer. Every week, I offer practical hands-on activities to help grandparents enthusiastically share their faith with their grandkids. Seminary-trained, so you don’t have to be, I bring fresh ideas for teaching Scripture and principles from God’s Word. I’ll share prayers for intercession and ways to build character and connection with your grandchildren.
I hope to give you a voice because staying silent places future generations at risk.
As an author, I weave my passion for Scripture with my calling to write by crafting adventurous tales and creative non-fiction that encourage kids to walk out their faith. The Kingswell Kid Detective series, co-authored with my writer friend Jen Weaver, debuts this May. Mother of four and GG to six, I love Jesus, CrossFit, running, hiking, national parks, my Belgian Malinois Blaze, and a great story. Thankfully, my husband is a good sport about it.
Find me at gayleveitenheimer.com.
The Christian Grandparenting Podcast
How to Write a Biblical Blessing for Your Grandchild
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Scripture offers the blessing as a way to encourage future generations to walk out
their faith. But have you ever given a biblical blessing? How do you do it?
Show Notes for How to Write a Biblical Blessing for Your Grandchild
Scripture to Help Grandparents:
The Blessing by Gary Smalley and John Trent
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Scripture offers the blessing as a way to encourage future generations to walk out
their faith. But have you ever given a biblical blessing? How do you do it?
Today’s episode of The Christian Grandparenting Podcast explores the biblical
blessing. Glad you’re here.
Hi, I'm Gayle Veitenheimer, your host for The Christian Grandparenting Podcast.
Each week, I bring practical hands-on activities that teach Scripture and principles
from God’s Word. I offer prayers for intercession, as well as ways to build character
and to connect with your grandkids.
Finally, I bring encouragement.
Because to stay silent . . .places future generations at risk.
I'm so glad you're listening. Let's walk this grandparenting journey together.
When time comes for the Summer Olympics, my husband enjoys watching track
and field.
Relays always promise some drama. Why? The handoff.
The trickiest part of a relay.
Races have been won and lost in this short twenty-meter zone.
But the stakes are higher than shiny medals when we’re talking about our faith.
No matter how your handoff went with your own kids, you have another
opportunity with the grandchildren.
If you’re like me, helping your grandkids navigate their faith ranks high on the
priority list. One way to put solid ground under their feet is to bless them.
Who can we bless? Anyone, really, but grandchildren, for sure. If your kids are
open, bless them too. Jacob was well into adulthood when Isaac blessed him
(Genesis 27:27-29).
What is a blessing? The biblical blessing is seen throughout Scripture. Jacob
blessed all twelve of his sons (Genesis 49:1-28). God blessed Jesus after His
baptism (Matthew 3:16-17).
When I was growing up, we blessed the food but not much else. My husband and I
decided to change that when we had children. Gary Smalley and John Trent
taught us how.
Their book, The Blessing, outlines five elements seen in biblical blessing:
● Meaningful touch.
● Spoken words.
● Attaching high value.
● Picturing a special future.
● An active commitment.
When and where do we give the blessing? Anytime and anywhere. However,
blessings can give added significance to special occasions, milestones, birthdays,
and holidays.
Why give a blessing? Scripture offers the blessing as a way to encourage future
generations to walk out their faith, knowing they have the support of those who
have gone before them. It helps to anchor them in their relationship with God and
with their family.
How do we do it? Let’s walk through the five elements. Don’t try to wing this.
Personalize the blessing for each grandchild and write it out ahead of time. I’ll
have a template for you in the show notes at the end of this episode.
1. Meaningful touch:
Mark 10:16 says, “And he [Jesus] took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
Small children can sit in your lap for a blessing. For older children, you can place
your hands on their head or shoulders. Make eye contact as well.
2. Spoken words: Offer words of love, acceptance, and affirmation. Remind them
that they are part of a family. Remind them of their identity as a child of God.
Incorporate Bible verses like these:
Ephesians 1:4 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”
Psalm 139:16 reads, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
3. Attaching high value: What gives that child value to you? I challenge you to
steer clear of talents and giftings. We don’t want kids thinking that their value
comes from what they do or don’t do.
Their intrinsic worth comes from God.
As His image-bearer, their worth has been established. Forever.
Consider verses like these:
Genesis 1:26-27 reads, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
4. Picturing a special future: Verses abound here!
Philippians 1:6 says, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:10 reads, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
Insert their names into these verses or tie your grandchild’s character to that of a biblical figure.
Ex. May Nicholas become a man after God’s own heart just like King David. May Elyse be like Queen Esther and serve her generation for such a time as this.
5. An active commitment: This is our part. Here, we commit to showing up any
and every way we can.
● Phone calls, FaceTime.
● Texts, email.
● Letters, notes, postcards.
● Visits.
● Care packages, even gifts like magazine subscriptions like Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse, Clubhouse, Jr., and Brio magazines, depending on their ages.
Here’s a blessing God used in Numbers 6:22-26:
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
I wrote these blessings for two of my grandchildren when they started a new school year:
Dear (4 yr. old),
I love your happy attitude. I love your laughter and I love your questions. You ask
great questions.
You are a treasure. You are a special part of our family and I’m so glad God made
you.
You are going to have a great year at your new school. Ask God to show you the
right friends to play with.
I will pray for you. That you learn and grow every day. And that you get to know
Jesus and learn to hear His voice.
I love you, ______.
Love,
GG
Dear (8 yr. old.),
I love your sweet attitude, your kindness to_____and _____,(siblings) and what a
helper you are.
You are precious, a prize treasured by God and by me. I’m so glad you are part of
our family.
God did something special when He made you.
Second grade is going to be awesome—even if you get the strict teacher.(a
concern) God has a plan for you.
Talk to Him about who will be the best friends for you.
I will be praying for you. Start every day with God. Talk to Him during the day too. I
will do the same. He will teach you to know His voice.
I love you, __________.
Love,
GG
Now, it’s your turn. Create a blessing for each grandchild.
Let’s pray. Father God, You commanded Aaron as priest to bless Your people.
As the matriarchs and patriarchs of our families, blessings begin with us.
Your Word says that we are a royal priesthood and, so, like Aaron, we choose to
bless.
Guide us as we craft blessings for each grandchild.
Give us specifics You want included in each blessing.
And thank You for blessing each of us with our precious families.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Check the show notes for a template to craft your own blessings.
The baton is in your hand. Nail your handoff.
Outro: Thanks for listening. Before you go, would you help me by doing one of the
following?
Rate this episode.
Review the podcast.
Hit the subscribe or follow button.
Or share this episode or podcast with your favorite grandparent.
Thanks for joining me. Now, let's hit the trail. See you out there.
Show Notes for How to Write a Biblical Blessing for Your Grandchild
Scripture to Help Grandparents:
The Blessing by Gary Smalley and John Trent
Next episode on The Christian Grandparenting Podcast: 3 Reasons to Celebrate York Grandchild's Salvation
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